Cutaneous findings in 72 patients with Down syndrome

Background: The Down syndrome (trisomy 21) is among the most common chromosomal aberrations, and has been associated with several cutaneous disorders. Objective: Our purpose is to analyze the frequency of the cutaneous manifestations an other skin disorders in our Mexican patients with this syndrome. Material and methods: We studied 72 cases with trisomy 21, all of them healthy and we search for cutaneous abnormalities and for skin diseases, and we review the literature. Results: They were 49 males, 23 females (ratio about 2:1); the age range from 2 to 37 years old (mean age, 16). Except for 6 patients (8.3%), the rest 66 (91.7%) had skin lesions. Fissured tongue in 44 (62%), onychomicosis pedis in 23 (32%), syringomas in 23 (27.7%). Other skin lesions less frequently found were: keratosis pilaris, pseudoacanthosis nigricans, tinea pedis and corporis, cutis marmorata, alopecia areata, verruca vulgaris and vitiligo. We did not find atopic dermatitis nor psoriasis. Norwegian scabies, carotenemia and ichthyosis were not frequent in our patients. Conclusions: Our findings are similar to previous reports in the literature.